When Beyoncé released her country album Cowboy Carter earlier this year, she opened up a discussion about music genres, how strictly they need to be defined, and the role Black artists played in the development of country music and American music as a whole. Cowboy Carter is probably the definitive example of pop country music in 2024, and if you look back through music history, there are many other records that show how this blending of genres has changed over the years.
The list below features 25 of the best pop country albums of all time. Many of these records combine country and pop. Others are more purely country but became crossover hits. And while there’s a wide range here, a few singers appear on the list twice because of the impact they’ve had. Read on to see who made the cut.
RELATED: The 24 Best ’90s Country Songs to Take You Back to That Iconic Decade.
When you think of country pop, the first name that comes to mind is probably Shania Twain. The singer is known for having massive success after crossing over from pure country to country pop, especially with her 1997 album Come on Over. Singles from the album include “Man! I Feel Like a Woman,” “You’re Still the One,” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much.”
Another artist known specifically for making country pop is Faith Hill. Her fourth album, Breathe, was hugely popular when it was released in 1999 and is still her bestselling record. It includes the songs “Breathe” and “The Way You Love Me,” as well as “Let’s Make Love,” a collaboration with her husband, Tim McGraw. (We’ll get to him soon.)
Country music group the Chicks came to much wider fame with their 1997 album Wide Open Spaces. They found success with the title track, as well as other singles, including “There’s Your Trouble,” and the album was a hit on both the pop and country charts.
For her eighth solo album, out in 2024, Beyoncé went the country route. After previously exploring the genre on her song “Daddy Lessons” (and a remix of that song featuring the Chicks), she released a full album that blends country, pop, R&B, and more. She first revealed the theme of the record with the release of the singles “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Cowboy Carter also features collaborations with several Black country artists.
Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour won her the awards for Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 2019 Grammys. The acclaimed album features songs including “Space Cowboy” and “High Horse.”
RELATED: 44 Country Wedding Songs to Celebrate Your Big Day.
Taylor Swift started out as a country artist before moving into pop country and eventually pure pop and folk pop. The album that most clearly marked her first transformation is 2012’s Red, which is one of her most beloved albums. It features pop singles including “I Knew You Were Trouble,” as well as songs that lean more country, such as “Begin Again.”
Maren Morris’ 2016 album Hero put her on the map as a pop country star. It includes her hit “My Church”—which is about her love for country music—and “I Could Use a Love Song.” Morris has since left the country genre behind and criticized it with her new releases.
After winning American Idol in 2005, Carrie Underwood released her first studio album, Some Hearts, which became the bestselling album by an American Idol contestant and the bestselling album of 2006. Fans will remember that it features the crossover hits “Before He Cheats” and “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”
While the album is definitely steeped in country music tradition, Garth Brooks’ No Fences makes our pop country list because of its major crossover appeal and the impact that it had on his career. The 1990 album is Brooks’ bestselling album and includes the eternally popular bar singalong track “Friends in Low Places.”
Lady Gaga has never released an entire country album, but her 2016 release Joanne shows some country influence. This can be heard particularly on the title track and on the single “Million Reasons.” The video for the latter features the singer dressed in a pink, very classic country singer suit and hat.
RELATED: The 30 Most Iconic Music Album Covers of All Time.
We take it back to 1962 with Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which includes R&B and pop covers of country songs. Charles is, of course, a legendary musician, and this album is considered one of the most important of all time. Songs from the record include “Bye Bye Love,” “Hey, Good Lookin’,” and “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”
Dolly Parton has released nearly 50 solo albums during her decades-long career in country music. Here You Come Again, released in 1977, announced her entry into country pop. The album’s biggest song is the title track, and it also features “It’s All Wrong, But It’s Alright” and “Two Doors Down.” This was Parton’s first album to go platinum, meaning it sold over 1 million copies.
Lady A had a huge hit in country and pop with “Need You Now” from their 2010 album of the same name. The song won the Grammy for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, and the album won Best Country Album.
Joining his wife Faith Hill on the list is Tim McGraw and his 1997 album Everywhere, which is considered his transition into country pop. It includes one of his biggest songs, “Just to See You Smile,” and a collaboration with Hill titled “It’s Your Love.”
Sheryl Crow’s 1996 self-titled album mixes a variety of genres, including pop, country, rock, and folk. The biggest hits from this record are “A Change Would Do You Good,” “If It Makes You Happy,” and “Everyday Is a Winding Road.”
RELATED: The 25 Most Influential Music Videos Ever Made.
Iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan moved from folk into country with 1969’s Nashville Skyline. And it features a country legend: Dylan collaborated with Johnny Cash for the song “Girl from the North Country.” This album also includes “Lay Lady Lay” and “To Be Alone with You.”
Country pop was a major moneymaker in the mid- to late ’90s, and another singer who made her mark with that genre is Martina McBride. Her 1999 album Emotion includes the songs “It’s My Time,” “Love’s the Only House,” and one of the biggest hits of her career, “I Love You.”
Given that she’s one of the biggest names in pop country, Hill has earned another place on this list. On year before Breathe, Hill released 1998’s Faith, which includes one of her most biggest hits, “This Kiss,” along with another duet with McGraw: “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me.”
Like Parton, with whom he recorded the song “Islands in the Stream,” Rogers is considered an early pop country artist. The Gambler (1978) was one of his crossover albums that charted in both country music and pop. The title track is Rogers most famous song, and the album also includes the songs “She Believes in Me” and “I Wish That I Could Hurt That Way Again.”
John Denver’s 1971 album Poems, Prayers & Promises is another crossover success from that decade. This album includes his hit “Take Me Home, Country Roads” along with covers of the Paul McCartney song “Junk” and the Beatles song “Let It Be.”
RELATED: 27 Hit Songs Musicians Hate Playing Live.
Swift’s second appearance here is for her second album, 2008’s Fearless. The sophomore effort includes two of the singer’s biggest songs: “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me.” She won Best Country Album and Album of the Year at the Grammys that year—the first of Swift’s record-setting four wins for the major album award.
Twain had to be here twice, too. Before Come on Over, there was her 1995 album The Woman in Me, which leans more country than her later releases, but is definitely still pop country. This album—which won the Grammy for Best Country Album—features “Any Man of Mine” and “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
Hill and McGraw aren’t the only country power couple—Trisha Yearwood joins husband Garth Brooks on the list. While we haven’t included any other greatest hits albums here, we’re making the exception for Yearwood’s, since (Songbook) A Collection of Hits is the only album that features her biggest country pop hit, “How Do I Live.”
Charley Pride, who released over 40 studio albums between 1966 and 2017, was the first major Black star in country music and transcended genre barriers. The album that charted highest on both the Billboard 200 chart and the country music chart is Charley Pride Sings Heart Songs from 1971, which includes the single “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin.'”
Our list’s last entry is also the oldest album featured. Patsy Cline released her second album, Showcase, in 1961. She’s a legend in country music but was also one of the first county singers to also be a pop star. Showcase features Cline classics such as “Crazy,” “Walkin’ After Midnight,” and “I Fall to Pieces.”